Tale as Old As Time
by cOokIng PoT
Summary: A broken heart. A broken man. Who can save him from his misery and give him the strength to go on? Chapter 2 up. Finally again. Where the F4 get together and nothing good comes out of the meeting.
1. Default Chapter

Haha, goodness, I haven't updated 10 days and here I am with another story. I promise to update that soon (by the end of the week) but for now, content yourself with a new story and enjoy. Characters are in their adult-hood.  
  
**Tale As Old As Time (Prologue)  
**  
The young man shifted uneasily about in his sleep, throwing off his blanket in the process. Beer cans lay strewn over the once tidy room, the room reeking of alcohol.  
  
He finally decided that sleep would not come anytime soon and he got up slowly, shuffling towards the toilet. He vomited again for the third time that night, as he struggled to keep himself standing upright.  
  
He stared helplessly at the mirror. Who was this man staring back at him? That man was unshaven, his hair tangled and messed up, his eyes a dull blue, no longer holding the shine they once had. He reached out shakily to touch his own reflection.  
  
What had he become? He had become nothing but a worthless piece of junk. A broken man. Unable to look anymore, he walked slowly out the toilet, past a violin that lay abandoned at one corner, and slouched against the windowsill.  
  
The night was unbelievably clear tonight, the stars shining brightly. Hadn't she once said that when he played the violin, it was though the angels in the sky were singing as well? Hadn't she once kissed him under the stars and whispered 'I love you'?  
  
The newspaper which he had had thrown angrily against the wall in the morning now lay silently at his feet. He picked it tersely; it headlines screaming 'Todou Shizuka to Marry Famed Lawyer Junichi Tetsuo!' with a smaller byline 'No more violinist's wife for Shizuka?!'  
  
She was smiling radiantly, her eyes sparkling. But no, she wasn't smiling for him, she was smiling for another man. A man whom she was going to get married to, a man who wasn't him.  
  
And to think he had once thought that she had loved him. That he had once told her that he wanted to have 4 kids with her. That he had once told her that he would play the violin for her everyday, because he loved her. She had smiled and laid her head on his shoulders, under the stars.  
  
He had called her in desperation, clinging on the hope that this was nothing but a bad dream. But all she could say was 'I'm sorry.' Sorry? Sorry for what? He laughed at himself for being a fool. How could she ever want to marry a violinist like him? He was famous no doubt, but he couldn't give her as comfortable a life as a lawyer could. Musicians had a short- lived career anyway.  
  
And for the first time in his life, Hanazawa Rui allowed himself to cry.  
  



	2. Chapter 1: Waltzing Matilda

* * *

Chapter 1: Waltzing Maltilda

**Chapter 1: Waltzing Maltilda**

She kissed him softly on the lips, looking at him with eyes brimming with tears. _I had no choice_, she whispered. Her touch burned him, and he felt as though he could not breathe, being in the same space with her.

And she disappeared suddenly, and he cried out with an anguished cry and then, all went black.

* * *

"Rui… Hanazawa Rui…" He stirred as he squinted, trying to focus on the person. The light was too bright, and he could feel a throbbing headache. He closed his eyes again and with his willpower, opened his eyes forcefully.

He groaned and put a hand over his forehead to see.

"You're up." The voice said quietly.

"Tsukushi?" He shook his head to clear the stupors of last night's intoxication. He saw the disappointment in her eyes, even as she gently caressed his forehead.

"Sleep." He nodded bleakly and his head fell back on her lap.

* * *

Nishikado Soujiro was one unhappy man on a fine Tuesday morning. His date last night had unceremoniously dumped him (drat those girls who studied in the US! No proper Japanese upbringing!) and his secretary had walked out on him after realizing he had been sleeping with other women (hey, he never made her his girlfriend!).

"WHAT!" he growled into the phone when it rang annoyingly.

"Where's she?" Soujiro's eyes widened as he recognized the cool voice on the other end.

"Tsukasa… Welcome back… she being…"

"Rui. 3pm." And the call got disconnected. Soujiro groaned. This was not his day, and he speed-dialled the only person he thought could help.

* * *

The young tycoon stepped off the airplane in his swanky shoes and lifted the aviator shades off his handsome face. "Welcome home, Tsukasa." He muttered as he toyed with the ring on his finger.

"_You will do anything, just to get a business deal done!"_

"_Business is business."_

"_Ruining the lives of a family?! This isn't the man I fell in love with!"_

"_What do you want to do? Leave me? We're going to be married in a week's time!"_

No one to see him there, no one to greet him. For 5 years, he had been away in New York, seeking his fortune but more importantly, desperately trying to forget her. Yet, he could not forget her.

It angered him to know she had moved on with someone else, someone who wasn't him. And then, she had disappeared. It crushed him to know that no one knew where she was, but this time, he was back to find her.

Oh yes, Makino Tsukushi belonged to him. Doumyouji Tsukasa. And neither heaven nor hell would stop that from happening. And somehow, Hanazawa Rui had something to do with everything.

His shoes crunched into the gravel as he stepped into the waiting limousine and slammed the door shut.

* * *

_Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, Who'll come a- waltzing matilda with me…_

A ballroom. Strains of a familiar tune. Rui felt as though everything was in slow motion as he walked through the room. And then, he saw her.

Not Shizuka, but… her.

She smiled at him, and curtseyed. "Would you like to dance?" And they did, and they danced. And when the music stopped, she stepped up and kissed him.

And he woke up.

"Tsukushi." He mumbled as he got up, realizing it was yet another dream. He kept dreaming of the same scene. Where he had lost Shizuka, then Tsukushi comforting him, and of the ballroom where he had fallen for Tsukushi.

2 years. It had been 2 years since she last disappeared. 2 and a half years since Tsukasa had last spoken to him. 3 years when he had fallen in love with her. 4 years when Shizuka had left him.

His handphone started to beep. "Rui. Akira here."

"Ohayo."

"Tsukasa is back. And he is going to find her, no matter what it takes. You ready?"

* * *

So I did a twist. I know I haven't been the most prompt of authors (a few years late) but inspiration went really dry for a long time. Enjoy and let's hope the updates come.


	3. Chapter 2: Three

**

* * *

******

Chapter 2: Three.

Mimasaka Akira sighed as he fidgeted with his tie. He had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen. But that always happened with Tsukasa and Rui clashing together so it was not anything unusual.

The only unusual thing was that this was a meeting nearly 3 years in the making. He shook his head as he cleared the not-so-distant memories of the last clash between the two as they fought over one stupid woman who was currently missing.

_One stupid woman._

Akira would have lied through his teeth if that woman was merely just one stupid woman. No, it had to be Makino Tsukushi. Only she could cause such a clash of the titans, and yet, it was unbelievable how such a woman had grown to have such dominance over the heads of the largest empires in Japan.

Bah. Musings were for philosophers and right now, Mimasaka Akira had no time to play one. His driver pulled the car over and he slicked his hair back and stepped out neatly as the door opened.

Showtime.

* * *

Tsukasa drummed his fingers impatiently on the table, his coffee untouched. Soujiro looked at him somewhat nervously and cleared his throat.

"So Tsukasa, what have you been."

"Why's Akira and Rui late?" Tsukasa cut him off abruptly. Soujiro shook his head. It seemed his temper had gotten worse over the years.

"Hello Tsukasa! I haven't seen you since forever!" A loud voice boomed. Soujiro heaved a sigh of relief. Akira always managed to help defuse such tough situations. He gave Akira a 'thank goodness you're here look' as the other man shot him a look of understanding and patted Tsukasa's back.

"You're late."

"But better late than never!" Akira chirped as he ordered another coffee. "So dear boy, still grouchy as ever eh?" Tsukasa growled in response, but his face softened somewhat. That was some progress for Akira but before he could venture further, Tsukasa's jaw tightened.

Uh oh.

Rui glided over to the table and settled down next to Soujiro, across Tsukasa.

"Hello."

"About time you got here." The curly-haired man snickered while Rui stared impassively ahead. The clock chimed three times, signaling the time even though it was late by ten minutes on the others' watches.

"So, perhaps we could all get some cakes?" Soujiro asked , forcing a smile as Akira nodded in approval.

"Perhaps Rui could tell us more about what happened with Tsukushi." Tsukasa asked, a sinister smile playing on his lips. Rui stared at Tsukasa.

"There is nothing more to what I told you before."

"Come on Rui. You expect me to believe Makino just disappeared into thin air?"

"That's all that I know."

"And WHY?"

"If I knew, I would not be here." Rui's eyes burned with a cold fury that could possibly make hell freeze over. "You are the last person I would want to work with. " As much as Rui hated to admit, Tsukasa was the one who could pin down resources needed to find Tsukushi. Everything to do with Tsukushi had ended up in a cold trail and he felt nothing less than helpless.

"In all fairness Tsukasa, Rui had proposed to Tsukushi before she disappeared. That you should already know." Soujiro said gently. Tsukasa looked away, a shadow of hurt crossing his face.

"Whatever."

Soujiro cleared his throat again. "Let's be professional about this, ok guys? I mean we are _still_ really great buddies. So I propose…"

"Rui, I will need access to Makino's apartment. The private investigators will be at your office tomorrow to ask some questions and they will do a thorough search. I trust you haven't thrown anything away?" Tsukasa cut Soujiro off. It amazed Soujiro how much Tsukasa had matured over the years. Baffling as it was, Tsukasa was actually making some headway.

Rui nodded curtly. It had been too hard to throw anything away. Not when there were so many questions that needed answers, answers that he could never seem to find.

"We'll meet again." Tsukasa said simply and got up to leave, his heels clicking against the polished floor of the café. Akira and Soujiro let out a sigh.

* * *

"Rui, is that hard for you to have a conversation with Tsukasa?" Akira asked gently. Rui looked away. "I mean yeah, you fell in love with Makino 3 years ago and that's when Tsukasa didn't talk to you but it's not as if Tsukasa ever did you wrong."

"I never talked much to him anyway." Rui finally said. And with that, the three men mulled over their coffees, unsure of what was to come.

* * *

When Rui finally bade the two goodbye and opted to walk home instead, he realised he was not prepared for the cold wind of the autumn season. He dug his hands further in his pockets.

_Tsukushi. _Somehow, autumn always reminded him of her. Pushing aside the fact that she had disappeared two autumns ago, he thought of the autumn that he had fallen in love with her.

_It had been an unusually cold day and Rui waited for Tsukushi at the gate of the city park, as they had agreed. He started to worry when a good half and hour had passed and she had yet to call to say she was going to be late._

_Maybe she got lost… he muttered to himself. Baka. He had offered to pick her up but she insisted on meeting him in this park which had been constructed recently to take a look at the botany display. He decided to look for her, moving past the milling crowd. _

_It was a good 15 minutes before he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the said missing woman._

"_OH! Did you just get here?"_

"_No, I was here on time." Rui's brows furrowed. _

"_I didn't see you!"_

"_That was because I was standing behind you, silly. You were always looking forward, never looking backwards. I was behind you all this while."_

"_Baka."_

He had always been looking forward, never looking backwards. It was such a simple statement, yet a powerful one that made him marvel at the depths of her intellect. Just for fun, he suddenly stopped and turned backwards, half-wishing to see Tsukushi behind him.

No one was behind him, as expected and he merely shrugged and continued walking on.

Unbeknown to him, a lone figure had ducked quickly into a nearby phone booth and watched his lonely figure retreating further into the streets of Tokyo from a phone booth. "Rui…" the figure uttered softly, and quickly moved into the shadows of the autumn night.


End file.
